Good morning ladies and gentlemen
Today our opponent claims that there are a large number of country parks in Hong Kong. It is estimated that about three-quarters of Hong Kong is covered by the countryside. As we have got a vast countryside, our opponent simply thinks that it will be a waste of the precious land if we don’t further develop it for building more flats. However, may our dear opponent please bear in mind that all the country parks are our natural resources, which all of us should treasure. According to the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the term ‘country parks’ is defined as the areas for the purposes of nature conservation, countryside recreation and outdoor activities. All country parks are our green lungs and they are a vital part of our water supply system as well.
Out team line is that the country parks should not be turned into sites for housing in Hong Kong because they benefit us both individually and socially.
For the individual aspect, the broad country parks provide invaluable services like giving families happy time together, enabling young people to build their character with hikes among the hills, energizing tired souls and so on. To many people, especially low-wage earners, making a living in the city is suffocating and hardly bearable. But our spacious country parks welcome us all. There we can relax, breathe in the nature’s fragrances and see plants, birds, butterflies and bugs. It is a place for people to get recharged. Country parks do contribute to our well-being and growth and it is free of charge. For maintaining the healthy mental growth, country parks should not be depleted permanently in favour of the one-off gains. My first speaker will further elaborate on this.
For the social aspect, country parks are crucial for supplying water to the community. The country park system was set up in the first place to protect Hong Kong’s water resources. Totally 69 percent of the total area of all our 24 country parks forms a network of catchments for collecting rainwater into the reservoirs. These parks were designed with an important purpose of protecting the catchments from contamination. Although Hong Kong mainly relies on Dongjiang for the water supply, rainwater collected from the catchments still provides a significant percentage – between 11 percent and 27 percent of Hong Kong’s consumptions. Moreover, the reservoirs in the country parks store the imported Dongjiang water that is surplus to immediate needs. Any development in these parks would contaminate the catchment areas and therefore water in the reservoirs. We should be aware of the increasing demand for water in Guangdong due to the rapid economic development and population increase in the province. As a result, we should not consider building flats in the country parks as there is a need for us to increase our water self-reliance. The Hong Kong country parks can surely maintain a source of clean local supply. My second speaker will elaborate on this later.
Ladies and gentlemen, our team understands that the land supply in Hong Kong is very limited while, at the same time, the housing problems have to be tackled as soon as possible. Actually there are alternatives to meet our development demand, such as the 2,300 hectres of vacant government sites. The areas are large enough for being developed into housing complexes that can accommodate a considerable number of residents. If so, why our dear opponents still insist on developing the country parks, which means devastating destruction of the natural environment?
Our team strongly believes that reserving country parks will benefit Hong Kong as a whole. Therefore, today’s motion must fall. Thank you.